1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to installation of broadcast reception equipment, and in particular, to predicting likelihood of success of servicing a particular location before visiting that location.
2. Description of Related Art
Satellite and other wireless broadcasting of communications signals has become commonplace. Satellite distribution of commercial signals (e.g., for use in television programming) typically entails provisioning a customer location with an Outdoor Unit (ODU), including, e.g., a dish antenna and supporting electronics for delivery of services such as television programming, data services, and two-way internet connections, to name a few.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical satellite-based broadcast system of the related art. System 100 uses Satellite A (SatA) 102, Satellite B (SatB) 104, and Satellite C (SatC) 106 to broadcast signals to an Outdoor Unit (ODU) 108 that is typically attached to the outside of a house 110. ODU 108 receives these signals and sends the received signals to a receiver 112, also known as a Set Top Box (STB) or Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD) 112 with house 110. Receiver 112 decodes and separates the signals into viewer channels, which are then passed to monitor 114 for viewing by a user. There can be more than one satellite transmitting from each orbital location (slot). The orbital slots are typically designated by their longitude. For example, a satellite 102 located in the orbital slot at 101 degrees West Longitude (WL) is usually referred to as transmitting from “101.”
Satellite uplink signals 116 are transmitted by one or more uplink facilities 118 to the satellites 102-106 that are typically in geosynchronous and geostationary orbit in their assigned orbital slots, although other orbital trajectories can also be used. Satellites 102-106 typically amplify and rebroadcast the uplink signals 116, through transponders located on the satellite, as downlink signals 120. Depending on the antenna pattern of satellite 102-106, the downlink signals 120 are directed towards geographic areas for reception by the ODU 108. These geographical areas may, for example, encompass the entire Continental United States (CONUS). Satellites 102-106 may also contain spot beams that only service specific portions of CONUS. Satellites 102-106 may also be placed in orbit such that the downlink signals 120 are transmitted to other geographical areas, such as Latin America, Europe, etc.
Each satellite 102-106 may broadcast downlink signals 120 in, e.g., thirty-two (32) different frequencies, which are licensed to various users for broadcasting of programming. Downlink signals 120 may include, for example, audio, video, or data signals, or any combination of the foregoing. These signals are typically located in the Ku-band of frequencies, i.e., 11-18 GHz, but can also be broadcast in the Ka-band of frequencies, i.e., 18-40 GHz (typically 20-30 GHz). Signals can also be delivered from uplink facilities 118, or other locations within system 100, to receiver 112 via other connections 122, e.g., internet connections, cable connections, fiber optic connections, or other wireless connections to receiver 112. Receiver 112 can also be coupled to a network 124, which can be a local area network within house 112 or a wider network such as the internet. As such, receiver 112 can receive and transmit signals via network 124 and additional connections 122 as desired.
Even if satellites 102-106 are designed for CONUS coverage, or for spot beam coverage within a particular geographical area, there may be portions of the designated area that will have natural and/or manmade obstructions which block or interfere with reception of the satellite downlink signals 120, or other difficulties impacting satellite service. Such locations may also have difficulty receiving other wireless signals that are associated with the satellite services, in a similar fashion to cellular telephone coverage. Although cellular carriers design the cellular system to service large geographic areas, there are “dead spots” within those areas that receive poor or no coverage within that system. Similar problems exist within wireless broadcast systems, because of obstructions, multipath issues, other interferences with the downlink signal 120, and other issues that may or may not be readily visible. Typically, a service technician is sent to the location to visually and electronically (e.g., with meters and other equipment) determine whether downlink signal 120 can be received properly at a given location. However, this approach is expensive and time consuming.
It would be advantageous to be able to determine the capability of a particular location to receive downlink signals 120 and other wireless signals associated with system 120, preferably quickly and without visiting the location.